The present invention relates to therapeutic devices for treating and exercising the human body, and, in particular, to improvements in the lower body supporting mechanism of such devices. An example of one such device is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,662, which disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
The therapeutic device consists of a body supporting structure pivotally mounted upon a sturdy A-frame, the body supporting structure including an upper body supporting portion, a lower body supporting portion and a central elongated frame member interconnecting the upper and lower portions.
To achieve horizontal, inclined, or inverted positions of the body of a patient upon the exerciser requires the positioning of the center of gravity of the patient relative to the pivot axis of the exerciser. This positioning of the patient may be achieved in a number of ways, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,152,802; 3,286,708; and 3,568,669, as well as in my aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,662.
The balance of the patient upon the exerciser relative to the pivot axis may be controlled by slidably adjusting and locking the lower body supporting portion along the lower end portion of the central frame member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,613 discloses one type of slidable foot supporting device. When it is desired to place the body of the patient in an inclined or inverted position, it is of considerable importance that the patient be held in a safe, secure and comfortable manner. It is also preferable that adjustments of the center of gravity of the patient upon the exerciser be carried out in a controlled and gradual manner.
It is also highly desirable that the adjustment of body position be accomplished by the patient without outside assistance and in an easy and safe manner. Accordingly, the adjustments needed to slidably position and securely lock the lower body supporting mechanism should be within easy reach of the hands of the patient. Moreover, such adjustments should be made with comparative ease and without the necessity of completely dismounting from the exerciser. The locking mechanism for securing the lower body supporting portion to the central frame member and securing the patient to the lower body supporting mechanism must assure confidence in the patient that he or she may be safely suspended in an inverted position. The securing mechanism should, therefore, be interlocking, and the weight of the patient should be employed in such manner as to reinforce the security of the locking means.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved lower body embracing mechanism for supporting the human body in an inverted position upon a tiltable body exerciser.
An additional object is to provide an adjustable lower body supporting mechanism that is readily positionable along and securely locked to a central supporting frame member.
Yet another object is to provide a lower body supporting mechanism which readily adjusts the balance of a patient with respect to the pivot axis of a tiltable body exerciser to achieve an inclined as well as an inverted body position.
Another object is to provide an adjustable lower body supporting mechanism which may readily accommodate a variety of different sizes and shapes of the human body.
A further object is to provide an improved manually releasable adjusting and locking means for the lower body supporting mechanism that is within easy reach of the hands of the patient.
The above objects of and the brief introduction to the present invention will be more fully understood, and further objects and advantages will become apparent, from a study of the following detailed description in connection with the drawings.